The present invention relates to a portable electronic device and an external keyboard thereof. The portable electronic device comprises a first port comprising a circular earphone plug and a keyboard plug. The external keyboard comprises a main body, a keyboard array and a second port. The keyboard array is disposed on the main body and comprises a plurality of scan signal lines. The second port is electrically coupled to the scan signal lines of the keyboard array, and is capable of inserting into the first port of the portable electronic device so as to electrically couple to the keyboard plug. Therefore, the external keyboard can be connected to an earphone jack in a plug-and-play fashion without necessarity to add a new port such that the external keyboard is convenient to use and carry and can be freely rotated in any angle.
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5. A portable electronic device, comprising:
a first port comprising a circular earphone plug and a keyboard plug, wherein the keyboard plug is applicable for electrically coupling a second port of an external keyboard.
1. An external keyboard of a portable electronic device, coupled to a first port of the portable electronic device, the first port comprising a circular earphone plug and a keyboard plug, and the external keyboard comprising:
a main body;
a keyboard array disposed on the main body and comprising a plurality of scan signal lines; and
a second port electrically coupled to the scan signal lines of the keyboard array and being capable of inserting into the first port of the portable electronic device so as to electrically couple to the keyboard plug.
2. The external keyboard of a portable electronic device as recited in
3. The external keyboard of a portable electronic device as recited in
4. The external keyboard of a portable electronic device as recited in
6. The portable electronic device as recited in
7. The portable electronic device as recited in
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device, and more specifically to a portable electronic device and its external keyboard.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional mobile phone, the existence of a keyboard of the mobile phone is a major issue for the screen size and the volume of the mobile phone. In recent years, a mobile phone having a “qwerty” keyboard (such as Palm and Blackberry) brings convenient operations to users, but the mobile phone is generally thicker and heavier or has a relatively smaller screen, which cannot be popular among customers. As the touch screen technology matures, present mobile phones tend to have a super thin design, and most mobile phones have omitted the keyboard by simply using the touch screen as an input interface. A typical example is Apple's iPhone. However, the mobile phones come with increasingly powerful functions, and become a portable recreation platform, and many manufacturers and content providers developed many games for mobile phones. Without a keyboard, it will be very difficult to play games or send mails from the mobile phones.
A technical problem to be solved according to the present invention is to provide an external keyboard of a portable electronic device which is convenient to use.
In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, an external keyboard of a portable electronic device is provided to couple to a first port of the portable electronic device. The first port comprises a circular earphone plug and a keyboard plug, and the external keyboard comprises a main body, a keyboard array and a second port. The keyboard array is disposed on the main body and comprises a plurality of scan signal lines. The second port is electrically coupled to the scan signal lines of the keyboard array, and is applicable for inserting into the first port of the portable electronic device so as to electrically couple to the keyboard plug.
In the external keyboard of the portable electronic device, the keyboard plug can comprise a plurality of pins, and the second port comprises a plurality of electrodes insulated from each other and corresponding to the plurality of pins respectively. Each of the plurality of electrodes is coupled to each of the plurality of scan signal lines correspondingly.
In the external keyboard of the portable electronic device, one of the electrodes is an interrupt input terminal.
In the external keyboard of the portable electronic device, the second port is coupled to the main body through a rigid connecting rod. When the external keyboard is connected to the portable electronic device, the rigid connecting rod is capable of supporting the portable electronic device.
The present invention further provides a portable electronic device comprising a first port. The first port comprises a circular earphone plug and a keyboard plug, wherein the keyboard plug is applicable for electrically coupling a second port of an external keyboard.
In the portable electronic device, the earphone plug can be a 3.5 mm standard earphone jack or a 2.5 mm standard earphone jack.
The portable electronic device and its external keyboard designed in the present invention are improved to apply to the earphone jack of the external keyboard. The external keyboard can be coupled to the earphone jack in a plug-and-play fashion without necessarity to add a new port such that the external keyboard can be used and carried conveniently and be rotated in any arbitrary angle.
The foregoing objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the invention.
Those of ordinary skilled in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the exemplary embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same parts. All claimed subjects are not limited to mobile phones but are applicable to all portable electronic devices.
Please refer to
The second port 202 is used for inserting into the first port 102 of the mobile phone 100 so as to transmit keyboard scan signals. The first port 102 of the mobile phone 100 is modified from a traditional circular jack, such as a 3.5 mm standard earphone jack or a 2.5 mm standard earphone jack, to increase the port used to the keyboard. Thus, the first port 102 of the mobile phone 100 is capable of matching with the second port 202 of the external keyboard 200, and one embodiment of the specific structure will be described below in reference with
In other embodiments, the rigid connecting rod 203 can be replaced by a flexible connecting rod with an adjustable shape, or a soft electrical connecting wire.
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On the other hand, the external keyboard 200 comprises a keyboard array 210 and the second port 202, wherein the row scan signal lines and column scan signal lines of the keyboard array 210 are electrically coupled to the second port 202.
Please refer to
In another embodiment of the present invention, in order to generate an interrupt input while the external keyboard 200 is coupled to the mobile phone 100, one of the connecting electrodes of the second port 202 is an interrupt input terminal.
When the mobile phone 100 does not be inserted with the external keyboard 200, it is only a bar phone, such as Apple's iPhone. When it is necessary to use the keyboard, such as playing a game or sending e-mail, the second port 202 of the external keyboard 200 is inserted into the first port 102 of the mobile phone 100. At this time, the second port 202 passes through the earphone plug 102a within the first port 102 so as to electrically couple to the keyboard plug 102b. Furthermore, the CPU 110 of the mobile phone 100 generates an interrupt notice to enable a earphone module. Then, a keyboard module can be active by the CPU 110. Therefore, the external keyboard 200 can be used and its angle can be adjusted arbitrarily.
Consequently, the external keyboard according to the embodiment of the present invention can be coupled to the earphone jack in a plug-and-play fashion without necessarity to add a new port such that the external keyboard can be convenient to use and carry and be rotated in any arbitrary angle.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to encompass within their scope of all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
6628961, | Aug 04 2000 | INVENTEC ELECTRONICS SHANGHAI CO , LTD | Device and a method for connecting a mobile phone handset to an external keyboard |
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Aug 05 2010 | MA, HUA-QIAO | INVENTEC APPLIANCES SHANGHAI CO LTD | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 05 2010 | WANG, TIAN-YOU | INVENTEC APPLIANCES SHANGHAI CO LTD | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 05 2010 | MA, HUA-QIAO | Inventec Appliances Corp | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 05 2010 | WANG, TIAN-YOU | Inventec Appliances Corp | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 05 2010 | MA, HUA-QIAO | INVENTEC APPLIANCES CORP , SHANGHAI | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 05 2010 | WANG, TIAN-YOU | INVENTEC APPLIANCES CORP , SHANGHAI | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 024821 | /0354 | |
Aug 11 2010 | Inventec Appliances (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Aug 11 2010 | Inventec Appliances Corp. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Aug 11 2010 | Inventec Appliances Corp., Shanghai | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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